Destiny
by David Shigure
Summary: A tale left unfinished for a thousand years. A history that will be repeated once more. And a love that must defy the odds to save the future, and salvage what's left of the past...
1. An Ominous Premonition

I would like to point out that this is a reformatted chapter 1. With a few new bits in and a few taken out.  
Oh, and I don't own Girls Bravo or any of the characters. That will be all.

* * *

  
'Destiny'

Chapter 1: An Ominous Premonition

"Yukinari..." A soft voice spoke from somewhere in the dark.

"Yukinari... Wake up..."

Something nudged him gently on the shoulder, shaking him softly.

"Its time for breakfast Yukinari." A soft, sweet smell accompanied the soft voice.

"We do this every morning Yukinari, wake up sleepy head..."

Both of his shoulders were being shaken this time, a little more rough this time. But only a little.

"If you don't get up Yukinari, I'm gonna get in the bed with you..." The voice giggled this time.

Yukinari Sasaki shot up out of bed. "What!?"

Miharu looked fondly at him, her bright pink hair and soft, red eyes warm with the morning sun. She giggled softly.

"I just have to push the right buttons to wake you up in the mornings."

Yukinari groaned and flopped back onto the bed.

"Miharu, it's Sunday. Can't I lie in?

"You need to help me wake the others up. They're still asleep from the party last night."

"Oh man..."

Miharu watched him as he dragged himself out of bed and walked over to his wardrobe. Picking out a casual set of clothes, he glanced at Miharu as he started unbuttoning his pyjama top. "Okay, I'll be downstairs in a second."

Miharu nodded and walked out of his room. He caught a glimpse of her smile as she walked out of his room and smiled himself.  
It had only been a month since he and the others had rescued her from Yukina on Seiren.

He shuddered as he remembered the events leading up to then.

It had been a day or two full of despair as he thought Miharu had gone back to Seiren forever. It still terrified him when he thought about how close he had come to losing her. It was unbearable.

He finished getting dressed. He quickly glanced at the mirror, and then walked out of his room. The smell of a clam miso soup wafted up the stairs, along with other delicious smells that made his stomach rumble.

A thought suddenly crossed his mind.

The house...was quiet.  
Too quiet.

Kirie was usually calling up the stairs to him by this time. Yukina would usually wake up and burst into his room, jumping onto him.  
If it was a particularly bad day, he would have Risa harassing him too.

And if the powers that be were feeling particularly vindictive, they'd send in Fukuyama, Hayate & Kosame to wind up Kirie, Tomoka & Koyomi at the same time. Which usually meant a hell of a lot of noise.

But today was quiet.  
Too quiet.

An unusual smell invaded his nose, and he instantly recognised it as sake. Fukuyama's own morbidly expensive brand.  
He could vaguely remember a party from the night before. He must have drunk too much.

As soon as he thought about it, his head started to pound. The hangover's effects were starting to kick in.

Taking a deep breath, he opened his door and stepped outside.

"So far so good..." He thought, cradling his aching head with one hand.

He stumbled over to Yukina's room. She actually shared her room with Miharu, which was ironic to him, seeing as how she tried to kill Miharu only a month before.  
But, it was better than sleeping with Yukinari. At least, that's what the other girls thought anyway.

He poked his head in cautiously, wary of the powerful water summoner. The room was still dark, which meant Miharu had left her curtains closed.  
He peeked in a little further.

Yukina was still fast asleep, one of her arms hanging off the side of the bed.  
He could see the distinctive Star Marks over her arm and upper back that she was so self-conscious about.

Which suddenly reminded him that she liked to sleep naked.

He suddenly turned his eyes away.  
Miharu and him had gone out and bought her a few nice clothes which she liked wearing when she was out in public.  
But inside, she preferred to let it all show, which generally either annoyed Kirie, or encourage Miharu to do the same, bringing trouble on Yukinari on more than one occasion.

He closed the door softly, letting Yukina sleep a little while longer.

Making his way downstairs, he opened the door into his living room and kitchen.

"Morning."

"Morning Yukinari."

Miharu was sitting at the table, already digging in to her own breakfast. He sat down opposite her, grabbing his chopsticks and digging into the breakfast.  
"You sure do know how make good food, Miharu." He popped a rice ball into is mouth.

Miharu beamed. "Thank you Yukinari."

"I'm just gonna wash my plate quickly." She walked over to the sink, swaying her hips softly, humming a familiar tune.

"Morning." A sleepy Koyomi walked into the room.

"Morning Koyomi! You slept in a while today, you okay?" Miharu said from the sink.

Koyomi yawned, rubbing her eyes softly. "Yeah, I'm okay. Still recovering from 'Fukuyama' yesterday."  
She sniffed the air softly.

"Does it still smell of sake in here?"

"We must have overdid it again last night." Yukinari grimaced. He looked at Koyomi.

"How's Tomoka? She lazing in too?"

Koyomi nodded. "Yeah, she must have been completely wiped out from play fighting with Hayate. I have to say, the man might make a good father someday if he ever gets out of being Risa's bodyguard."

"I can't really see that happening. What else would he do?" Yukinari sipped from his tea.

"I dunno, he might be a bodyguard to big sister Maharu?" Miharu had finished in the kitchen. She came to join the two on the table again.

"Oh yeah. There's Maharu to think about..." Yukinari said wonderingly.

Koyomi nodded. "She's really taken with him now. The poor guy, he doesn't know what's hit him."

"Anyone home?" Kirie walked through the door into the living room.

"Morning Kirie." Miharu beamed at her.

"Hey Miharu." Kirie sat next to Yukinari. "You guys alright from yesterday?"

"Not really." Koyomi & Yukinari sighed.

Yukinari glanced over at Miharu. "However, she seems to be okay."

Miharu nodded. "I'm fine."

Kirie sighed. "She's a heavyweight drinker alright. Lucky girl." She looked down at the table. "um, Yukinari?"

"What is it?" Yukinari looked Kirie, who seemed to be a bit on edge. She fidgeted.

"I'm sorry for what happened last night." She said awkwardly. "I don't know what came over me. It just happened..."

Yukinari stared at her, baffled. Everything about last night was hazy to him.  
He couldn't remember much, except that he drank a lot, Miharu drank a lot, everybody had pretty much drank a lot, thanks to Fukuyama and Lisa.

They had played a game of Mahjong, just like they had before. A few bunny outfits and nurse costumes still lay around the room, and Yukinari had a digital camera with a memory card full of provocative images of all of the girls that dressed up that night.

But then everything seemed to have gone quiet as the night was getting late. Which was right around the time Kirie had started talking to him, just chatting about random things in her drunken mood. Then she had started going on about him, and what a great guy he was.

And then, all of a sudden, she had kissed him. A deep kiss, one that lasted a while. Almost as though she had been saving it for him for a long time. A very long time. And then after the kiss was over, she had looked into his eyes and said that she loved him. And promptly fell asleep on top of him afterwards. At which point his memory fuzzed out, so he assumed his must have fallen asleep afterwards.

Yukinari blushed "um, K-Kirie... I..."

Kirie mumbled under her arms. "Listen, I was really drunk. I-I could've said anything. It just.... ugh" She sounded frustrated, and he was sure her face was probably redder then his was right about now.

"Aw, Kirie come on. It can't have been that bad." Miharu tried to comfort her, her voice soothing. However, it had the opposite effect, as both Kirie and Yukinari cringed. If Miharu found out the truth, she'd probably lose control and accidentally blow up the house.  
_  
_"Yeah, she's right. Please tell us Kirie, I'm sure you're probably thinking about it too much." Koyomi unfortunately had no idea of the truth either. Kirie glanced at Yukinari, her eyes begging him for a way out of the mess she was in.  
He stared back, slightly terrified, shrugging his shoulders.

"I can't... I..." She clenched her fists on the table. "I... um, I..." Her face went redder, her heart thumping madly.

"I... kissed Yukinari." She said in a voice that clearly said she was crapping herself. She buried her head in her arms.

"Miharu, I'm so sorry. It was an accident I swear. It'll never happen again..."

She looked up as she felt Miharu softly touch her on the arm. "It's alright Kirie." She smiled. "I know how you feel. It's okay."  
Kirie blushed even harder .

"But Miharu..."

"I don't mind. Really.

I like Yukinari and you like Yukinari and I'm pretty sure Risa likes Yukinari too. Risa's always doing those crazy things to Yukinari, but I don't mind. I thought about this for a long time while Yukina had me trapped in Seiren.

I used to be upset when Lisa did those weird things, or when it turned out that Yukinari didn't have his girl rash anymore.  
I thought that I wasn't special to him anymore.

But he said to me that it wouldn't change, whether he was allergic to girls or not. And he also told me that all the girls he knows are special to him, all in different ways." She smiled at Yukinari, who was sinking lower into his chair, as red as a beetroot.

"Is that so..." Kirie turned to look at him, a strange, and slightly creepy gleam in her eyes.

Yukinari mentally cringed. As if it wasn't crazy enough with the girls as it was. He could see life being a lot more troublesome from here on.

Koyomi looked at him, giggling softly.  
"Poor Yukinari." She thought. "Maybe now is a bad time to say I like him too?" She finished her cup of tea and joined in with the girls staring at Yukinari.

He tried to lower himself even more, but the chair was going to fall back if he went any further.

"um..."

The girls were really starting to bug him.

"I'm going to go... to the bathroom." He said slowly. He got out of the chair carefully, fully aware that three pairs of eyes were staring at him hungrily.  
He walked over to the door, turning the handle.

The door burst open before he could pull it open himself, slamming him in the face.

"Morning!" Yukina walked into the room, a big grin on her face. "Where's my darling Yukinari?"

A soft moan came from the floor. She turned around to see him on the floor, rubbing his nose.

"Ow..."

He was about to stand back up, when a blur of silvery hair blocked his view.

"Yukinari!"

Yukina had thrown herself on top of him. It was something she loved to do every time she saw him.

"Yukina!"

He tried to back away, but he couldn't with the girl lying on top of him. "You're n-naked!"

Yukina ignored him, nuzzling into his chest.

"I don't care. Being naked is so much better than being in tight, uncomfortable clothes. Which raises an important point. Why are you still wearing clothes?" She fiddled around with his shirt.

"Get 'em off Yukinari! I've never seen a man naked before. It's not fair you've seen me naked and not returned the favour!"

Yukinari's rash suddenly erupted.

"N-No Yukina! Not..."

"There they go again." Tomoka walked into the living room, rubbing her eyes as she took in the scene. "I'm sure glad my hormones aren't that messed up yet."

"Morning Tomoka!" Miharu smiled at the small mage. "And morning Ebi!" She nodded at the small seal like creature riding on Tomoka's head.

"Nya Nya!"

Tomoka sat down on the chair Yukinari had been sitting on. She yawned again.

"Hayate is getting his butt kicked today. I'm tired and it's all his fault!" She rubbed her eyes again.

"When did Big Brother Kazuharu and blondie say they were getting here again?"

Miharu checked the clock on the wall in the kitchen. "They should be here right about..."

Two shiny yellow blurs whipped past, spinning the occupants of the room.

"Yukinari! My darling, what is that wretched demon doing to you so early in the morning!" Risa Fukuyama knelt down next to where Yukinari was desperately trying to stop Yukina stripping him down.

"Who are you calling a demon? You're not really one to talk are you?"

"What's that supposed to mean?" Risa drew herself up to her full height, staring down at the seemingly frail water summoner.

"Well, you do mess with black magic, don't you?" Yukina said slyly. "My magic is pure, and uses only the power of water. Black magic is the true power of the demons. So the next time you think about calling me a demon, remember that you're the one worshipping Mabanya. Not me."

Risa growled fiercely. "You little brat. Watch me shove those words right back down your throat!" She materialized her staff into her outstretched hand and pointed it at Yukina.

"Oh yeah? I bet you will." Yukina narrowed her eyes, pointing her palm at the staff.

Pentagrams erupted on the ceiling and floor above and beneath Yukina and Yukinari.

"Yukinari!" Miharu said worriedly.

"Oh don't worry about him. I think you should be more worried about me." Fukuyama had made his way behind her, his gloved white hands poised to give Miharu's breasts a Fukuyama special.

"And now for the prize I've been waiting for."

A crazed look was in Fukuyama's eyes. But before Miharu could even turn around, there was a large crash.

"Ow..."

Fukuyama lay sprawled on the floor. Kirie was standing up, having just thrown a large water bottle at the now dazed Fukuyama.

"Oh no you're not." Kirie drew herself up to her full height. "Miharu's innocence has yet to be pervaded by you. That's Yukinari's territory right there."  
She winked at Miharu.

"Right?"

Miharu nodded at her. "Right." She giggled, blushing furiously.

Kirie turned her attention back to Fukuyama. He growled as his moved himself into a sitting position.

"At least you're consistent. Your temper hasn't changed a bit"

He crossed his legs and arms, ignorant of the pulsing vein on Kirie's temple and the soft, growling noises issuing from the provoked female.

"And anyway, going back to 'Yukinari's territory'. If Puny Nari has suddenly developed a muscular physique, or magical powers or something along those lines, then he might actually have a chance of preventing me from reaching my ultimate goal in life. To claim the breasts of every girl sitting in this room, aside from my own sister, as my own." He chuckled merrily.

"Although by the looks of things..."

He glanced at Yukinari as he cowered under Yukina as the two sorceresses promptly tore apart his front room.

"That's not the case, is it Kirie?"

To his surprise, Kirie just laughed.

"Well, you may be right about that." She smiled. "But last time I checked, he had a powerful water summoner, an equally powerful black mage, Miharu, Tomoka and me on his side, who are more than capable of kicking your ass." She winked.

"He doesn't need a muscular physique, or magical powers. And anyway..." Her eyes softened momentarily. "He's a lot stronger than he looks. I've beaten him up more times than I can count, and so far he's survived, hasn't he?"

"Good point."

He glanced around at the impending chaos around him as Yukina and his sister battled it out, with Miharu, Koyomi, Tomoka, Hayate, Kosame and Yukinari taking refuge in various places.

"He's become a stronger person, I must admit." He said slowly. Kirie glanced at him, her eyes wide.

"Is he actually complimenting Yukinari? Fukuyama complimenting Yukinari!?" She thought wildly.

"Who are you and what have you done with Fukuyama?" She giggled softly. Fukuyama smiled.

"Well, it's true, isn't it? Our little Puny Nari has been through a lot, and he must have grown up somewhere along the line."

He grinned at her. "But enough about that. Now that everybody else is distracted, why don't we sneak off and enjoy the night while it's still young, hmm?" He winked suggestively.  
Kirie sighed.

"And there was me thinking you actually had a few redeeming qualities."

It was a bright, sunny day on Seiren.

The Blue Forest Metropolis looked as beautiful as it always did, water abundant in all the designs of the architecture.  
Towards the west of the city, the Sena Kanaka Mansion stood tall, the sunlight reflecting off the glass panels and the water flowing around it.

Inside the mansion, steam wafted from the bathtub.  
Maharu Sena Kanaka was inside the bathtub, relaxing peacefully.

"I wonder what my little sister and the others are up to today?" She sighed softly. She opened her eyes and looked at the ceiling.

"Probably goofing off with each other, doing what teenagers do."

She could think up a number of ways Miharu and Yukinari could spend a beautiful day like this back on Earth.  
And they all sounded pretty sleazy in her head.

"Ooh, Miharu. Out on Earth, having the time of her life, and I'm stuck here, having to take care of this old mansion."

She stood up, letting the water slide off her body. Her bright red hair sparkled in the light.

"I could always bring Hayate here. I'm sure me and him could while away the time together." She licked her lips voluptuously. "And we'll bring the others to Seiren one day, just for fun."  
She grabbed a towel off the rack on the wall of the bathroom.

"Well, that's enough fun for one day. Now, I've got a legend to read up on." She groaned as she remembered that she had a large stack of papers locked away in her father's safe. She had to read through them all, as they apparently contained some important family history that her parents had only briefly mentioned to her. Something to do with a powerful water summoner that had lived a thousand years ago.

"Oh well." She yawned as she walked towards her father's study. "It'll be like reading a story, like the ones mother used to tell to me and Miharu." She stopped as she got outside the door to the study.  
A memory had come back to her. It was an old memory of when she was a little girl, and when Miharu had been only a baby. She had always tried to sneak into her fathers study, just to see what was inside. Just because it was something that had never been allowed before.  
She had always fantasized that there had been a time machine, or something magical inside, which was why she was never allowed inside. Something mysterious had always been an attraction to her.

However, the study was the same as any other, with a beautiful view over Seiren out of a single, large glass panel. Hundreds of books lined the walls, each with strange names, collected by generations of the Sena Kanaka family.  
In the middle of one of the walls, a large safe had been placed. The safe now lay open, with the secrets of the Sena Kanaka family lying in the middle of the room on a single, large white desk, in bunches of paper and small devices.  
She had yet to start actually reading any of it, or had she figured out what any of the strange devices actually did.

She sat down on the large, comfy white stool behind he desk, a mug of coffee in one hand, leaning her head in the other. With an already bored expression, she began unravelling the bunches of paper and began to read them.

"I wonder how big sister Maharu is doing?" Miharu murmured to herself.

She was sitting in Yukinari's front room again, with Yukinari, Kirie, Yukina, Koyomi and Tomoka.

Kirie was busy lecturing Yukina and Yukinari on modesty and why having a magical battle in somebody else's front room was always a bad idea.  
The Fukuyama's had left some time ago, Lisa absolutely soaked from the battle with Yukina, Kazuharu with numerous bruises over his face.

Koyomi and Tomoka were watching the lecture with bemused expressions, gently sipping cups of tea.  
Yukinari was protesting his innocence, as always.  
It always seemed to him that nobody listened to his side of the story.

Yukina was blatantly ignoring Kirie, wrapping her arm around Yukinari's arm, which was enraging Kirie further.

"Let go of him!" She said fiercely, trying to pry Yukina's arm off Yukinari. Yukina just clung ever harder to Yukinari.

"No way." She growled. "I just beat one girl off him, I'll beat you too." Her eyes blazed fiercely as she looked up at Kirie.

Kirie took a step back, startled by Yukina's fierce expression.

"Listen. I'm not saying I'm gonna steal him away from you." She put up her hands in a weak gesture of surrender.

"At least, not any time soon." She thought mischievously, a sly grin forming in her mind's eye.

"All I'm saying is that Yukinari needs his space now and again, you know?" She put her hands on her hips, looking like a mother scolding a child. "And put some clothes on! You don't mind clothes in public, why do you suddenly not care when you're at home."

Yukina smiled slyly up at her. "When I'm home, here with Yukinari, I hate wearing anything that hides away my body. He accepted me for who I was, for what I was. Star Marks , tiny breasts, whatever. Which is why I feel free to do whatever I like when I'm around him."

"He's the only man in the world who would ever talk to me, he's the only guy who I can laugh freely around, or talk to. I also don't mind showing him my natural body, as he was the only person, Seiren or Earth, to see me for who I really was. Except that pervert Fukuyama. But even Fukuyama has a point when you think about it." A glazed look appeared in Yukina's eyes.

"Sexual desires, nudity, perverseness. It's all natural, and it's a way of life. People who love each other indulge in their own fantasy together, and ultimately, give each other their body and soul to seal the love they share together, forever."

She looked fiercely at Kirie again. "So if me and Fukuyama just show our love a little harder than others, why is it such a bad thing? True, Fukuyama does need to learn a little self-control, and maybe settle with one girl, instead of moving from one to another. But in the end, we're the same. We show our love for the opposite sex by using the ultimate form of expression."

Kirie stared at her, unable to process what she was hearing.  
Since when did whatever Fukuyama said make sense to anyone? And when was him being a pervert ever a good thing!?

"But...t-that means..." Kirie had turned bright red.

Yukina's sly smile had come back to her face. "Oh yes Kirie. In this fight for Yukinari's heart, You have to play dirty. I'm willing to give myself to Yukinari, heart, soul and body." She turned to face Yukinari, who was extremely close to a nervous breakdown.

"That's right, my lover..." She leant in closer to Yukinari. "I will be yours, forever." She closed her eyes as she moved in even closer. Close enough so that Yukinari could feel her breath against his face.

Everybody in the room suddenly froze as they watched the scene unfold. Kirie glanced over to Miharu, wondering if she was reacting like the way she was. Miharu's eyes were wide, her palms in front of her mouth. The Star Mark on her forehead was flashing strangely, as though it wasn't quite sure what to do.

"Yukina... Yukinari..." Miharu looked desperately confused. She shook her head fiercely, closing her eyes.

"No!"

An explosion crashed through the front room.  
Pink smoke and random pieces of food from the table went flying through the air as the occupants of the room landed in awkward places.

Yukina had been thrown on top of Yukinari, his face buried in her chest.  
Kirie had been blasted off her feet and also on top of Yukinari.

Koyomi and Tomoka had both crashed into each other and lay on a dazed mess on the floor. Miharu herself had fallen off her chair and lay on the floor, her eyes crossed and dazed.

"Miharu!" Yukina yelled, unaware that she was slowly suffocating the wriggling boy underneath her. Miharu stood up, looking ashamed. "I'm sorry." She mumbled. She began fiddling with a loose strand of hair. "I just..."

Kirie slowly got up, giving Yukinari a swift moment to breath.  
She knew just how Miharu felt. Well, she also wanted to beat the hell out of Yukina, but she knew that Miharu didn't want Yukina to kiss Yukinari.  
Just like she didn't. Just because they wanted to be the one to kiss him instead.

But at the same, so did Yukina. They all felt the same way about Yukinari. She sighed, brushing away her hair from her eyes. Yukinari was stuck in the crossfire between the three girl's affections for him.

"Listen, Miharu." Yukina was beginning to look a little bit guilty. "I'm sorry if I upset you."  
She looked up. Miharu was still fiddling with her hair, looking sad. She kept twirling her fingers around, curling the loose strands.

Suddenly, Miharu felt her hand being grabbed as Yukina pulled her into a hug.

"I'm so sorry."

She tightened her grip. "I didn't realise how much it affected everyone else."  
Tears began to form at the corners of Yukina's eyes.

"Yukinari is... the first boy that I ever truly liked, and the first who ever truly appreciated me. His love means more to me than anything else in the world." She relaxed her grip on the pink-haired girl and looked into her crimson eyes. "And I'm sure the same goes for you too." She smiled.

"Yukina..." Miharu's eyes began to water, just like the girl opposite her.  
Before long, both girls ended up in each others embrace, sobbing their love for the poor boy who was trying his hardest to sneak out of the room unnoticed.

Unfortunately for him, Kirie's sharp eyes caught him.

"Yukinari!"

The unfortunate boy flinched at the sound of her voice. He turned around slowly.

"I'm just going to go lie down for a while. My head really hurts, y'know?" He closed his eyes, his body begging him to jump onto his bed and sleep before it gave out.

Kirie shook her head and sighed. "Fine." She looked up and gave him a hard stare. "But you're going to have to deal with this sometime or another, Yukinari."

…

Miharu lay down on her bed, her mind far away.  
Everybody else had gone to bed now, Kirie had gone home and the house was quiet.  
All that she could hear was the sound of her own breathing and her thoughts arguing with each other in her mind.

She rolled over, trying to ignore the gnawing anxiety in her chest.

"It'll be... alright tomorrow..." She yawned. She finally drifted off into a restless sleep.

…

All she could see was darkness around her.

She walked forward slowly, unsure footsteps echoing around her.

"Where... am I?"

Her voice sounded very far away to her.

She walked forward some more, until she saw a small pinprick of white in the distance.  
As she walked forward, the light seemed to grow bigger. Suddenly, she was enveloped by pure, white light.

"What's happening?"

She whirled around, trying to see if she could recognize anything.

All of a sudden, Yukinari was standing next to her.

"Yukinari?" Miharu tried to touch him, but her hand went right through him.  
The ghost of Yukinari smiled sadly, waved goodbye to her once, and faded away.

"Yukinari!" She cried out his name.

"Yukinari!  
Yukinari!"

She began walking around frantically. She stopped when she saw a ghostly image of Kirie.

"K-Kirie?" Her voice caught in her throat.

Kirie's face was contorted with rage, staring at her with loathing in her eyes.  
She was dressed like a shrine maiden, but with a hint of blue instead of the normal red and white.

"Kirie... what...?" Miharu felt tears well up again. The ghost of Kirie turned to face away, fading away just like Yukinari had done.

"Kirie!"

She felt lost, upset and confused.  
Why did Kirie look so angry?  
And what was this strange, surreal place she was in?

Another image appeared.

It was the ghostly image of a young girl, who looked exactly like her.  
Except that she had ice-blue hair instead of Miharu's pink, pale-blue eyes instead of Miharu's crimson ones, and an ice-blue star mark, just like the one Miharu had on her forehead.

Miharu took a step back.

"Who are you?"

The girl in front of her closed her eyes and shook her head. Her star mark started to glow a bright blue.

"One thousand years past and fate has chosen for history to repeat itself."

She opened her eyes, freezing Miharu to her place with an icy, cold stare.

"How far will you go, to save the one you love?" The girl closed her eyes and everything went black.

...

Miharu shot up from her sleep, breathing heavily.  
A single drop of sweat ran down the side of her face, as she struggled to remember her dream.

Who was that girl who looked just like her?  
And what about Yukinari and Kirie?

They were dressed strangely, and seemed different, but it looked like them.  
It felt like them.

She fell back onto her pillows, her eyes wide, staring at the moonlight streaming through the window. The gnawing feeling in her chest had grown to near-panic proportions.  
She closed her eyes, and tried to forget her strange dream.

As she fell asleep, she softly whispered.

"Yu...ki...na...ri..."


	2. Ruin

The chapter where the mystery begins to set in. Sit back and enjoy.

* * *

  
'Destiny'

Chapter 2: Ruin

It took a while longer for Miharu to wake up than she usually did. Remnants of the strange dream from the night before still hung over her. With her head lying on her pillows, her mind still a bit sleepy, the image of Kirie's face contorted with rage was all she could see. "Kirie..." She was worried about the girl she had grown close to since coming to Earth. If it hadn't been for Kirie, she wouldn't have escaped a few of the sticky situations they seemed to find themselves in.

She got up out of bed, pulling off her pyjamas. As she was unbuttoning her top, she thought about all the things that she could possibly do to make Kirie mad at her. But she was having a tough time thinking of anything. Anything except for...  
"Could it be because of Yukinari?" She murmured as she folded up her top and laid it on her pillow. She knew that Kirie had big feelings for Yukinari. "But no... we said we didn't mind sharing Yukinari yesterday..." She shook her head, trying to rid her mind of the horrible dream. "Maybe she isn't mad at all?" She thought slowly as she started slipping off her pyjama bottoms, pushing them past her hips and down her thighs. She preferred not wearing her undies in bed, during the night they tended to get uncomfortable. So once she stepped out of her pyjama bottoms, she walked over to the wardrobe mirror in her room, her bed hair covering the perky nipples on her breasts. She sighed. "Let's worry about Yukinari's breakfast for the moment. Hopefully I'll just forget that bad dream."

Slipping past Yukina as she slept soundly in the bed, she pulled out the clothes she was going to wear, which comprised of her normal black dress and her black hair decorations. Once she was dressed, she made her way out of her room. As she put her hand on the door handle, she stopped. "Who was that other girl in the dream?" She thought suddenly. That girl who looked exactly liked her, except for different coloured hair and eyes. "And her star mark too..." She murmured as she walked down the hall, past Koyomi's room. She stopped again outside Yukinari's room. "Just forget about it!" She scolded her mind. She put her hand on Yukinari's door handle. "But what if it means trouble?" Her mind argued with her back.

She shook her head. "Why am I arguing with my mind this early in the morning? Let's go and wake Yukinari already." She twisted the handle and walked into his room. "Time to wake up Yukinari!" She smiled as she walked into the room, looking at the bundled duvet on the bed. "Come on sleepyhead! It's time to get up." She walked over to the bed, intent on rousing the sleeping boy into consciousness.  
"Yukinari, wake up." She murmured softly. She poked at the duvet, seeing if he would respond. Her finger met with a scrunched up duvet, but she couldn't feel Yukinari's body. "Yukinari?" She said slowly, confused. She pulled the duvet back, expecting to see Yukinari snoring underneath it. But there was nobody there.

"Yukinari!?" She gasped. She couldn't quite believe that he wasn't right there, in his bed, sound asleep. "Yukinari?" She looked around the room, desperately confused. She ran out of Yukinari's room, down the stairs and into the kitchen. "Yukinari!" She burst into the kitchen, but there was no smiling Yukinari sitting at the table. "Where are you, Yukinari?" She wandered over to the table, sitting on one of the chairs. "He never goes anywhere without me, or at least telling me..." She murmured. She buried her head into her arms. "Maybe he just went out for a little while?" She thought. Her mind immediately said that Yukinari was not a morning person, so there was no way he was waking up before she did.

"But he's not here..." She thought forlornly. "Maybe Yukina or Koyomi knows?" She stood up, intending to rouse the water summoner and the other gate opener in the house. Pushing the door of her bedroom open again, she wandered over to her bed, where Yukina was still sleeping, just like how she had left her. "Yukina." She whispered, gently shaking Yukina's shoulders. "Yukina, wake up..."

It took a while, but Yukina eventually opened her eyes, slowly focusing on Miharu's worried face. "Miharu..." She yawned. "What's the matter?" Her bright blue eyes kept losing their focus as Yukina gently drifted into consciousness. "um, its Yukinari. He's not in his bed..." Miharu said worriedly. "I can't find him anywhere..." She sounded close to tears.  
Yukina immediately sat up. "You mean, he's not in the house?" Miharu nodded desperately. "The only room I haven't checked yet in Koyomi's..."  
Yukina quickly pulled off the duvet covering her naked body, rushing out of the door. "Miharu, come on!" Yukina knocked gently on Koyomi's door. "You awake, Koyomi?" She couldn't here a reply, so Yukina gently opened the door to her room. "Koyomi...?" The two girls crept into her room. Tomoka and Koyomi were asleep on the big double bed, snoring quietly.

"Koyomi, wake up." Yukina roughly shook her shoulders, rolling Koyomi's head back and forth. "Wha-what is it?" Koyomi mumbled, one of her eyes half-open. Yukina came to the point as bluntly as she could. "Yukinari's missing, he's not in the house."  
"He's missing!?" Koyomi sat up, just as quickly as Yukina had done. Miharu nodded as she tried waking up Tomoka. "I've checked the kitchen and his room and I quickly went into the bathtub too, but he's not there, and the water's still its normal colour." She sounded extremely worried. "I don't know... where else is there to look?"

Koyomi looked thoughtful. "What about Kirie? Do you think she might know where he is?" Tomoka had by this point fully woken up and had figured out what was going on. "She might know! Let's go ask her!" Tomoka jumped out of bed, her nightdress whirling around. "But we can't just go knocking on her door this early in the morning, can we?" Miharu looked around at the other girls, completely out of her depth trying to figure out what to do.

"I'm sure Kirie won't mind when it's to do with Yukinari." Yukina got off the bed and walked to the door. Her words had brought the dream back into Miharu's head. The image of Kirie's face contorted with rage and anger flashed in her eyes. With reluctance, Miharu got off the bed and followed Yukina. Koyomi and Tomoka quickly got dressed. "Miharu looked really upset." Tomoka murmured. "I know..." Koyomi was worried about her friend. It wasn't often you'd see Miharu worried like this. "Let's go after them and look for Yukinari."

They all met again downstairs. "Okay, here we go." Yukina was wearing her cloak to hide her body. She opened the front door of the house, letting the group of girls out into the early morning air. Making their way next door, Yukina pressed the door bell to Kirie's house. "Okay, this is it." she thought to herself. "If Kirie doesn't know where Yukinari is, then he has well and truly disappeared." Her train of thought was interrupted as the door opened, with a sleepy Kirie swaying gently behind it. "Morning guys..." She rubbed her eyes. "What are you here for so early?"  
"Yukinari's disappeared." Yukina's blunt personality shone through again. Kirie's eyes opened wide in surprise. "He's...disappeared?"  
"Yeah, Miharu went to wake him up this morning, and he was gone." Yukina had a stern look on her face. "You wouldn't have any idea where he went, would you?"

"N-no, I haven't seen him since yesterday." Kirie was a little intimidated by Yukina's cold look. "He didn't tell me he was going anywhere either..."  
The group sighed. Miharu was looking down at her feet, trying to hold back tears that were forming at the corners of her eyes. "Yukinari..." Her mind whispered. "Where did you go?"  
"Well, if he's not here... where did he go?" Yukina voiced what Miharu was thinking. "I don't know, but let's search for him. He can't be far, right?" Kirie invited the group into her house. "I'm just gonna go get dressed quickly. My parents aren't in, they're on vacation in Nerima, so help yourselves if you get hungry." She indicated the fridge as she ran upstairs.

The girls collapsed onto the sofa in Kirie's front room. "Where the hell is he?" Yukina moaned. "ooh, maybe somebody took him?" Tomoka piped up.  
"No way, who'd want to kidnap him?" Yukina sighed. She looked over at Miharu, who still looked close to tears. "Come on, cheer up." She put an arm around Miharu's shoulders. "He'll be back before we know it."

"But what if somebody really did take him?" Miharu's voice sounded broken.

"Alright, I'm ready." Kirie walked into the living room. "Lets sit down first and see if we can't figure it out first." She noticed Miharu, tears silently rolling down her face. "Miharu..." she murmured sadly.  
"What if somebody did take him? What if I... never saw him again?" Miharu was straining her voice. Her fists were clenched against her knees, wet with falling tears. "I don't know what I'd do..."  
"It's not like he's gone forever." Kirie sat down next to her. "I bet you he'll come to us eventually, that's the way it always happens. We'll spend the whole day looking for him, and then he'll be sitting at home, waiting for us."

It wasn't working. Miharu's tears still came. "You know what we could try?" Koyomi suddenly spoke up. All attention turned to her, with even Miharu's head lifting up. "We could always ask the Space Management Bureau." She looked at Tomoka. "We could travel to Seiren, seeing as the gate is stable now. I'm sure with me, Yukina and Miharu's star marks, and Tomoka's aqua lamps, we could travel through safely."  
"That's a good idea." Yukina nodded. "And its all we have to go on for the moment, so why not?"

It hadn't taken long to cross through the gate. And with Koyomi leading the way to the Space Investigation Bureau instead of Tomoka, they made it within an hour and a half of arriving in Seiren. "We've gotta visit Maharu while we're here." Kirie said as they passed the Sena Kanaka mansion. Miharu nodded softly. "I wonder if she's okay. I haven't seen her for a month."

They crossed through the big, mirrored doors of the Space Management Bureau into the familiar scene of the huge hallway that made up the reception area. "So all we have to do is ask reception if they've heard of any missing person cases that fit Yukinari's description?" Kirie said. Koyomi nodded slowly. "We could try that... or I could go and ask Chief Nani directly to see if she knows anything."  
"That might be a better idea actually." Yukina said abruptly. "Asking at reception will mean we'll have to wait forever for our request to be processed. I should know, I used to work here." She smirked at the thought of her failed coup d'etat bringing her career to a halt. "Chief Nani will probably place this as a high priority case if we can make it convincing enough that he pretty much vanished."

"Alright then, me and Tomoka will go look for her." Koyomi started walking in the direction of the Chief's office, but suddenly stopped. "Y'know, Yukina. You should keep a low profile. A lot of the girls here still hold a grudge against you after what happened last month."  
"I understand." Yukina nodded and drew the cloak around her a little tighter. "Wouldn't want to upset anyone while we're here."

"I understand how you feel, Koyomi." Chief Nani sat at her desk, facing an extremely distraught Koyomi. "But as far as I can tell, we haven't received any information on Yukinari Sasaki."  
"There's absolutely nothing?" Koyomi said quietly, trying not to let her worries get out of hand. "No. I'm sorry Koyomi." The Chief said sympathetically. "We're placing the disappearance of Yukinari Sasaki as a high priority case. But the best we can do is send agents around Seiren and Earth to search for him. Without any kind of a clue as to where he may have gone, we're stuck in the mud."  
"So what can we do, Chief?" Koyomi was determined to help out with the search as much as she could. This was her job after all, and she wasn't going to stop until Yukinari was back home. Chief Nani turned around to face her. "You and Tomoka can take part with the case, travelling to and from Seiren and Earth, following clues whenever you find them. Your new found ability to travel the water gates without the aqua lamps should come in handy."

Koyomi nodded. She had perfected using her star mark during the incident last month. She had kept a water gate open for almost a day while the others had travelled to Seiren. "Okay Chief. I'll take part in the case, and I'm sure Tomoka will accompany me."  
"One more thing, Koyomi, before you go." The Chief interrupted. She brought up the camera of the reception area on the monitor sitting on her desk. She zoomed in so that Koyomi could see Tomoka, Miharu, Kirie and Yukina. "I would like these girls to help you. I've seen what they can do, and seeing as one of them is from Earth, that should help while scouting up there." She suddenly gave Koyomi a stern look. "You and Miharu both possess the star mark. But you're both relatively new to using them to their full capability." She looked back at the monitor, focusing the camera so that Yukina's form filled the screen. "I'm sure she can give you a hand on how to use them effectively. However..." The Chief has a serious look in her eyes.  
"Be careful with her. I never did trust the Special Forces ladies, and last months incident outlines the reason why. She's a very powerful water summoner, and we've only seen a tiny fragment of what she can do. Can I trust you to keep an eye on her for me, Koyomi?"

"Okay, we officially have the support of the Space Management Bureau." Koyomi had returned to the others in the reception hall. "Great, now lets get out of here. Those girls by the front desk are giving me some funny looks." Yukina mumbled.  
"So did they have any information on where he might have gone?" Kirie asked. The sun was still shining outside, and the group were walking back to the gateway. "No." Koyomi shook her head. "They haven't heard of any disappearance's in the last twenty-four to forty eight hours."

They walked on in silence. So far, apart from the support of the Space Management Bureau, there hadn't been any good news, which everyone was fully aware wasn't doing any good for Miharu's mood. "Before we go, let's go visit Maharu!" Kirie said as they walked past the Sena Kanaka mansion again. "Good idea, I'm sure she'll be happy to see us." Koyomi nodded. Miharu and Yukina remained quiet. "I'm not looking forward to meeting up with her again..." Yukina thought worriedly. "Not after what me and Hijiri did to Miharu anyway..."

They walked up the front of the Sena Kanaka mansion grounds, which looked impressive. Bountiful green plants and tress lined the wide, front garden, with water designs embedded throughout. The front door was also impressive, with two, huge oak doors looming over them. "Okay." Kirie knocked on the door twice. "Now we wait."  
They waited for a few moments. Surprisingly, Miharu had perked up with the thought of seeing her sister again. "I hope big sis is okay." Miharu thought. "She hasn't heard the news yet..." Thinking about it again only made it worse. Her eyes stung with a fresh wave of tears, but she held them back. "Its only been a day... Who knows what I'll be like if we spend days looking for him." She wiped her eyes and replaced her gloomy expression with determination.

One of the huge okay doors opened. Maharu stood in its frame, a look of puzzlement etched across her face. "And look who it is..." She murmured. She walked over to Miharu and pulled her into a bone-breaking hug. "Its my little sister!"  
"Hi Maharu." Miharu said, trying to be enthusiastic as always, but just not quite making it. As hard as she tried to make herself smile, all that she could manage was a sad looking smile. "Miharu... are you okay?" Maharu asked, picking up on the forlorn tone of her little sister's greeting immediately.  
She had tried hard. Keeping the sobs at bay had been hard enough. But as soon as her big sister had asked if she was okay, there was no stopping them. She fell back into her sisters arms, crying her eyes out. "Miharu..." Kirie stood behind them, wishing she could cry as freely as Miharu could.

"So Yuki's disappeared..." The group had just explained the situation to Maharu. Yukina had remained quiet, trying not to look Maharu in the eye. She couldn't wear her hood without getting noticed immediately, but she was surprised that Maharu hadn't noticed her yet.  
"He was gone this morning, when Miharu tried to go into his room and wake him up." Koyomi said sadly. "He must have disappeared during the night." She looked into the cup of tea she was holding, looking at her reflection on the surface of the liquid. She looked worn out.

"And we have no idea where he went. So Koyomi had the great idea of asking the Space Management Bureau if they knew anything." Kirie nodded. "However." She continued. "They hadn't heard of any recent disappearances from Earth. So they've sent us on a mission, along with a bunch of other agents to look for Yukinari."  
"And I suppose that's where she comes in, right?" Maharu looked over at Yukina, a sly glint in her eye. Yukina gasped. "Crap, she's on to me!" She thought wildly. She turned to look at Maharu straight in the eye. "Yukinari's a special person to me, as I'm sure he is to the other members of this group. And Chief Nani asked my kindly if I could show Miharu and Koyomi how to use their star marks to their full potential." She tried to look determined, but she still wasn't used to being afraid of people. She still didn't like it when people got mad at her, and still tended to break things accidentally.

"Well, if Chief Nani approves of it, and you protect the girls from harm, as well as preparing them for what lies ahead, I don't mind either." Maharu smiled, allowing Yukina to breathe a sigh of relief. "I think we're gonna need as much help as we can get. I have a bad feeling about future things to come." She stood up. "I want to show you girls something. I found it while I was in our father's room, Miharu."  
Miharu looked up. "Our father...?" Maharu nodded. "Follow me to the old study. This is going to take a while."

Miharu, just like her big sister, had never been inside her father's study before. Even after he had died, she had felt that it would make her father upset if she had gone inside. But now that she was inside, it was just like she had imagined it to be. Hundreds of books lined the shelves, with a single desk in the middle of the room, stacked high with bunches of paper. The window overlooking Seiren was by far the most impressive thing in the room. The views over the Blue Forest Metropolis were staggering.  
Maharu sat on the desk. "I've been reading in here for a while, looking through all the things that our father left for us Miharu. And while I looked through it all, I stumbled over an old legend, that had been passed down through generations of our family."

The group of girls sat on the floor, expecting this would take a while. Maharu continued. "The legend is called the Waterflower of Seiren. And it's been passed down for at least a thousand years."  
"According to the legend, there was a girl. This girl lived here, in the Sena Kanaka mansion. And the thing about this girl was that she was an especially gifted water summoner. She could do almost anything with water. Conjure it from what little vapour there is from the air and amplify it a hundred fold. Then she could use if for anything she wanted. Cooking, cleaning, drinking, washing, bathing. She could even freeze the water, and turn it into a variety of different shapes, of any size. She could even use it as a weapon."

"Because of her powers, people were afraid of her. And because of that, she only had a small group of friends. By all means, she was a nice girl. She was one of the friendliest people you could have met. But because of her overwhelming abilities, people were scared of her.  
Anyway, like I said, she only had a small group of friends. But they meant the world to her. A black mage and her two subordinates, the son of a rich lord who was the brother of the black mage, two Royal officers from what was the predecessor to the Space Management Bureau, and another girl who was the best friend out of them all.  
With the powerful girl and her friends, it seemed like a normal life. That is, until one day, a man came out of the water in her bathtub." Maharu laughed. "You'd be surprised just how many men have come flying out of our tub Miharu."  
"I guess we have a special bathtub." Miharu actually giggled, although only a little bit. "Hey Maharu, I have a question." Kirie said. "What was the name of this girl?" Maharu shook her head. "Unfortunately Kirie, I don't know. The names might still be in one of these books somewhere. But, for the moment at least, they're lost to history."

"Anyway, back with the story. Just like with you and Yukinari, a random man came flying out of our bathtub from Earth. And over time, the man and this girl got to know each other really well, to the point where they fell in love. It seemed as though nothing could split them apart. They went through many of the adventures a young couple do, and made some interesting discoveries along the way. This girl, our ancestor, was the creator of the star marks, a legendary mark that is said to bring great power to those who know how to unlock it."

Yukina snorted. "So it's this girl's fault that I've got star marks covering my entire body? The creator of the star marks... I wish I could wring her neck right about now." Miharu gasped. "Don't say that Yukina! Maybe there's actually a good reason you've got so many star marks. As it is, you're probably the most powerful water summoner at this moment in time."  
"Point taken." Yukina grumbled. "It still doesn't make me any more popular with the guys if I can conjure up big walls of water, or make them instant slush puppy any time they want it."

"Anyway." Maharu interrupted. "After discovering the true power of the star marks, our ancestor and her best friend I mentioned earlier set about distributing the marks to people they felt would protect Seiren when the time comes. Her best friend had been happy with the new Earth guy, and had even got to know him by talking to him. But at some point, she realised that she also had feelings with the Earth guy, and so became jealous of our ancestor.  
It started small at first. Just small bouts of unfriendliness and tears. And then it grew bigger, to full-blown shouting matches between the two girls. Naturally, the guy in the middle of this didn't know what to do. He had to pick between two girls that he loved very much. And in the end, he chose the girl who had made him happy the most. Our ancestor."

"This left our ancestor's best friend heartbroken. She spent days locked inside her home, refusing to come out. It drove her mad, to think that the guy that she had loved so much would pick her best friend over her. She spent days thinking of ways to bring the man back over to her, before it killed her inside.  
In the end, she couldn't think of anything. She was numb with the pain of heartbreak, her heart had turned to stone. Next to our ancestor, she was also an extremely powerful magic user, and by using her power, ensured that she sent as many men away from Seiren to Earth as she could, through the watery gateways that had been opened by the legendary star marks. She succeeded, which is why men are so scarce on Seiren nowadays. Only a handful of men managed to stay on in Seiren, including our ancestor's lover. These men had to be hidden away from her, before her insanity led to the population of Seiren dying out."

"According to legend, she had thought that if she couldn't have the man she wanted, then no woman on Seiren would ever get to experience love, least of all her old friend who had stolen the man she had loved." Maharu stopped for a moment to take a drink. By this point, Yukina was looking a bit uncomfortable. The story was beginning to sound like the events she was planning to allow unfold not even a month beforehand. "I know how she felt." Yukina thought. "Or at least, how I didn't want any other women on Seiren experiencing love when it was so far out of my reach. I would have done anything. I was so angry, and so sad." She brought her knees up to her chest and held them with her arms, leaning her head on her knees. "If it wasn't for Yukinari, history would have been repeated."

Maharu began speaking again. "Our ancestor tried her hardest to hide the man from her best friend. However, the man wanted to confront the girl, as he felt personally responsible for what had happened, and wanted to turn the girl back to the way she used to be. Back when they could all laugh and smile together. And if that didn't work, he would have to put an end to the insanity, himself.  
Our ancestor agreed to try and turn her best friend back from her insanity, and agreed to help out if the worse should happen, they would have to eliminate her themselves. And so they confronted the girl. Remember that she's also a powerful sorceress, alongside our ancestor. The only thing the guy could do was fight with a wooden pole, as his father had taught him long ago. Together, the guy and our ancestor tried to reason with the sorceress, to try and melt her heart back from stone. Back from the ice she herself had cocooned it in.  
But it didn't work. Amidst the tears and the voices, all it did was to remind the sorceress how painful it was to lose the man you loved to your best friend. And so, between the three of them, a fight broke out. A fight that reshaped the way Seiren looked forever. A fight that shook Seiren to its very foundations, and one where the effects are visible a thousand years into the future." Maharu pointed out of the window. "Miharu, remember when me and you kept asking daddy where those huge pillars of ice came from?" She was pointing at three tall pillars, situated just outside the city that they lived in, made of pure ice that sparkled with a shade of pale blue. It looked like three huge diamond rocks, with flat tops that connected to each other. "They are the result of that fight. Our ancestor and her lover tried to stop the woman who had unleashed the tragedy upon Seiren. Our ancestor and the sorceress fought it out first, fighting with water. Huge battles erupted over Seiren as the two fought in the skies above, drowning the city they lived in with a storm."

"The guy tried his best to get as many people away from the fight as he could. It was all he could do, as he watched the girl he loved fight it out with her best friend over him. During the battle, our ancestor got hurt, and was flung to the ground, where the guy caught her. Placing her somewhere safe, he stepped up to the fight, facing the girl whom he had turned down in face of our ancestor. Using the pole to fight as he had been taught by his father, he prepared to fight with one of his own closest friends he had ever had. The girl fights fair, and uses a staff made out of a pale blue ice, sparkling in the dying sun. As a last request, the guy asks that they fight in a place where the people of Seiren won't be brought to harm. The girl complies, raising the Ice Pillars of Seiren, huge towers of ice, that never melt, even in the hottest sun, where they can fight at its top, uninterrupted by anyone.  
During the final, climatic fight between the two friends, the guy is speared by the staff wielded by the sorceress. At the same time, he manages to thrust his pole strong enough to pierce her chest. Before he's thrust over the edge, he grabs onto the staff as he's dangled over the edge. Pulling himself onto the edge of the pillar again, he uses the staff as leverage, to throw the girl down at his feet. With a staff protruding from his chest, he kneels down by the girl, holding her in his arms as she gets drenched in his blood, his vision slowly fading. He explains to her how he never wanted to fight with her. And about how's he sorry for the pain that he caused her to suffer.  
And with a last embrace, he pulls the girl off the edge of the pillar. Before they even hit the ground, they both died from their injuries, in each others arms." Maharu sighed. The occupants of the room were in tears. Even Yukina was sobbing on Miharu's shoulder. "They fell from that high up!?" Kirie pointed at the Ice Pillars outside the city, which were huge. They were taller than the city. Maharu nodded sombrely. "He must've known that they were both going to die. He made his peace with the girl, and fell to his death."

"There's still a tiny bit more of the story left." Maharu took a deep breath. "Our ancestor woke up after the battle was over, with no idea what happened. The people of the city were celebrating that the evil witch was dead, and were praising our ancestor, and the brave young man with her. Asking around, she eventually found where the bodies lay. At the base of one of the Ice Pillars, she found the corpses of her best friend, and her lover.  
Her heart shattered at that point, and she knew that she couldn't live without them. She took the bodies, floating them within a cocoon of water, back here, to her home. Here she froze the bodies within their cocoons, and took them to the Blue Forest of Seiren, which is where the city gets the nickname, 'The Blue Forest Metropolis' from, as well as the abundant water and blue trees found within the city. The Blue Forest of Seiren starts behind the mansion, so our Ancestor took the bodies deep within the forest, where she buried them, making sure that with her magic, the ice would never melt around their bodies.  
And then finally, leaning herself up against a tree, which itself leant over a small, tranquil lake, illuminated by fireflies, she said her goodbye's to her friends, her family, and the city she had lived in for so long. Then she froze herself to the tree, in a thick crystal of ice, forever to be sealed from the world."

Maharu took a deep breath. "And that, is the legend of the Waterflower of Seiren. Our ancestor was nicknamed after the incident as the Waterflower of Seiren, as she seemed as peaceful as a water flower, even though she was the most powerful priestess and summoner of water, the world had ever seen."  
The room was extremely quiet. The story had drove in to them hard, emotionally. It was taking a while to sink in. After a few moments, Maharu spoke up again. "They say that if you look within the Blue Forest, you can still find the ice crystals that cocoon the dead bodies. The Sena Kanaka family have placed a shrine around the corpses, so as to ward away visitors from prying. Seeing as we're family related, the authorities have given us special permission to pay respects to the dead."

"Maybe... maybe we should visit them, tomorrow." Miharu spoke is a small, quiet voice. The story had really hit her hard, with so many similarities between the legend, and the events now happening around her. The dream, Yukinari's disappearance, the plot to turn Seiren into a woman's only paradise last month. It just seemed too coincidental to not be related in some way. "Maybe I'll get some answers tomorrow." She thought to herself.  
The group nodded at Miharu's idea. They all wanted to see for themselves the legendary Waterflower of Seiren, as well as her lover and best friend.

"Where...am I?" Yukinari had just woken up to find himself naked from the waist up, his arms chained to a strangely comfortable bed. He looked around, but couldn't see much around him. It was too dark. He lay his head back down on the pillow. "I'm definitely not at home, that's for sure."  
"You're right. You're not even on Earth anymore, Yukinari Sasaki." Yukinari's head shot up again, looking for the source of the female voice that he had heard. A girl had just walked into the room where he was held prisoner. She had a faint, pale blue aura surrounding her and was holding a bowl of water and a cloth. "Who are you?" He asked. "And what am I doing here? And what do you mean, I'm not even on Earth anymore?"

"So many questions." The girl muttered. It was strange, but the girl looked just like Miharu. As she lit a candle and placed it on a beside cabinet, he could see from the candle's light, that it definitely wasn't Miharu. This girl had pale blue hair, instead of Miharu's pink hair. On her forehead, there was a pale blue star mark, where Miharu's was crimson, as well as her eyes, where this girl had pale blue eyes instead. "You're not on Earth anymore, you are on Seiren. And I know you've been here before, Yukinari Sasaki, so I don't think I have to explain about the planet that much, seeing as my descendant has already gone ahead and done that for me." She knelt next to the bed, soaking the cloth in the bowl of warm water, and placing it on Yukinari's forehead.

"So you know me." Yukinari said. "But that still doesn't explain who you are. Except that you're Miharu's ancestor..." He suddenly realised what he was saying. Miharu's ancestor? Does that mean she's a spirit, or a ghost? "But ghosts don't feel that real." He thought as he felt her hand touch his cheek, which felt warm to the touch. Suddenly, she got onto the bed and lay on top of him. "My name is Mihara Sena Kanaka." She murmured as she began to gaze into Yukinari's eyes. "Miharu is my descendant, so there's about a thousand years between us."

"A thousand years!?" Yukinari almost fainted then and there. "She's gotta be some sort of spirit then." He thought wildly. "How are you still alive then?" He asked. Mihara smiled sadly. "I'm not too sure really. I guess you could say I'm not technically alive. The way I died, I was never exactly going to rest in peace. Because of all the anguish, and tragedy that surrounded my death, my spirit held onto an immense amount of emotion. And in time, those emotions grew, and developed a life of their own. And as you can see before you, my spirit was able to use my powers and create myself a body, identical to my old one, albeit it relies on my magic to sustain itself. My old body is cryogenically frozen in the Blue Forest of Seiren."

Yukinari's mind was spinning. Cryogenics and a thousand year old spirits that could touch and feel and breath? It sounded like a strange fantasy to him, a dream he was eventually going to wake up from. "And why have you taken me?" He asked slowly, expecting something extremely mind boggling to become the explanation. And he was right. "Your soul is the reincarnated soul of my dead lover from a thousand years ago. And as reincarnation goes, the soul forgets everything as it starts a new life. Think of a really severe case of amnesia. And amnesia can sometimes recover, right?" Mihara smiled slyly. "I'm going to keep you here until you remember that you're my Yuki. Not Kirie's, mine!" She passionately forced her lips onto Yukinari's, smothering him. He couldn't see anything except her closed eyes and long pale blue hair.

After a few, seemingly eternal moments, Mihara broke off the kiss, and smiled lovingly at him. "We have a thousand years of love to catch up on, and I'm tired of waiting!" The look in her eyes was really beginning to freak him out. "Before we start, could you at least tell me what happened? To jog my memory a bit?" He said desperately. He didn't think he could survive a thousand years of love. And getting her to talk about her past was sure to waste a lot of time. Although maybe not a thousand years worth of time.  
Mihara sat up on top of him and smiled sadly. "You really don't remember anything, do you?" A small tear came to her eye, which she wiped away hastily. "Okay, I'll tell you. Maybe then you'll remember the sad story of a love triangle that really didn't work out well."

* * *

  
And the conspiracy begins here!  
Read, review, puzzle about it, then read, review again etc.


	3. A notice for my old fanfics

Hi from David Shigure

As you've probably realised by now, I haven't been able to update a lot of my old fics lately.  
As of seeing this notice, I would like you all to know that I'm in the process of reformatting my olds fics and digging them from under the carpet. I apologise for my, um, extreme delay in sorting my life out, but I do plan to get back on track.

Oh, and I will take this down once I'm sorted. Just a notice. :)

Much love :)


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